Wedding Weekend!!

Friends forever <3

D'Angelo and Armani

Ashley and I :)

Me and Katie!

My in-laws (love them)

The beautiful flower girl

Sexi Lexi and I

My life

Mr. and Mrs. Dunbar

September 20, 2014 will always be a special day to me because it is the day I married the love of my life and my best friend. That weekend was filled with so much joy, happiness, and love. I want to go back and relive it over and over again. How often do you get to have all of your friends and family together? Hardly ever. I had been looking forward to this day for such a long time.. everything came together perfectly and I can't thank my parents enough for all that they did to help make it all possible. Everyone stated that I was a very laid-back and relaxed bride, but I think that's how it should be. I wasn't worried about anything because I knew everything would come together in the end and I was just trying to soak up every second that I could because I knew it would be over in a blink of an eye.

Thursday, two days before the wedding I drove to Omaha to pick up my two sisters, my brother-in-law, and niece from the airport. I love going to pick them up and seeing them right away, they all live in Arizona and so I feel like I hardly ever get to see them and when I do the time flies by. Every time I see my niece she is in a new stage of life and doing so many new things that she hadn't done previously. I loved seeing her run around the airport, laughing and giggling, and having her show me all her new tricks she can do! Once we all got comfy in the car we headed home, but before we could do that we always have to stop in Missouri Valley at Taco Johns so that they can get their much needed fix since Arizona does not have one. Once we arrived home my mom had made a bunch of soups, and my aunt Jenny had made two of the household favorites: nachos and puppychow. My mom had invited my grandparents over for the night so that could spend a little extra quality time with everyone before the crazy weekend took place. I had also told some of my girlfriends to stop by and we all drank a little, played some cards, and finished the night with taboo.

Friday, the day before the wedding flew by! Everyone in the house was up early and my parents and oldest sister Heidi had cooked an amazing breakfast. After we all ate the boys (my dad, Tim, and Dlo) all headed out for a game of golf and the girls did some last minute errands. After we were finished running around Sioux City, D'Angelo's family had arrived. I love spending time with his family and it is even better when both of our families can get together. His mom, two brothers, two nephews, his brothers girlfriend, and his cousin Philip all came. Most of the day was spent outside playing basketball and getting in a few hands of Spades. Soon enough it was 3 o'clock and it was time for everyone to start getting ready for the rehearsal dinner and walk through for the wedding. I love when my sisters are home so that they can help me with my hair, make up, and outfits. I love having sisters! Once everyone was ready we headed over to the Marina Inn where the wedding was to take place the next day. There we meet up with all of the wedding party which consisted of my two sisters, my amazing friends, Emily, Jackie, Brittany, Katie, and my personal attendant Alexa. D'Angelo's side consisted of his two brothers, Tim, his friends Galen, Preston, and Lonnine. My niece Caprilee was our flower girl and Dlo's nephew Julian was our ringbearer. Once we were done taking pictures we did a quick walk through from the wedding the next day. Afterwards we headed downtown Sioux City to a fun bar called Buffalo Alice's, I loveeeee their pizza and they had a nice area where we could all get together. It turned out perfectly. We had wings, pizza, nachos and of course a few drinks :) I loved seeing how well my family and friends and Dlo's family and friends bonded and got along. It was such a fun night and after a few too many drinks we all headed over to Tom's where we danced the night away. Here are some of the pictures from the night.

Jackie and I

My sisters and I

My amazing parents!

The Fuchser girls with my son and my niece Caprilee

The crazy wedding party minus Tim

Katie and I

Saturday came fast and I was up at 6:30 eager and excited to start the day. All the bridesmaids and my mom met at Bell Touche where we all got our hair done. I had picked up some bagels and we had mimosa's to enjoy while we were waiting for everyone to get done. Everyone's hair looked amazing. Once we were finished my mom and sisters headed over to our reception hall to put the final touches together and my bridesmaids and I picked up a little alcohol to get us through the day and then we headed up to the hotel suite where D'Angelo and I were staying. The girls talked and laughed until it was time to start getting ready while the boys played cards, hung out, and drank a little. D'Angelo really did not want to see my until it was time so every time he would have to come into the room where I was to get something he would make me hide, it was so cute. I loved that D'Angelo was just as excited for this day as was I. Around 1:00 we decided it was time to get our faces on and start doing our makeup. All of the girls helped each other with make up, last minute curls, and fake eyelashes. After make up was finally completed we all got our dresses on and the photographer was going to show up any minute. I can't thank all the girls in my wedding enough for all their help and all that they did for me that day. They all have a special place in my heart and mean so much to me. At 2:30 the photographer showed up and took a couple pictures of Armani first. We had gotten an outfit and shoes to match the groom and groomsmen that day. Then the photographer took pictures of my putting on my dress and a bunch of different pictures in the hotel suite. Finally, the time had come that I got to see my soon to be husband! I was so nervous and filled with emotion I didn't know what to do. We were to see each other outside for the first time. He had his back to me and all I could remember walking up to him was please don't cry, please don't cry. The moment he turned around we both instantly had tears. I had to tell him not to say anything to me or it would make me cry even more. He kept telling me over and over again how beautiful I looked and he truly looked spectacular himself. The photographer took tons and tons of pictures of not only us but the wedding party as well and before we knew it, it was time to go back up to the room so that the wedding guest could arrive. I started to feel so anxious, I hate being the center of attention and having everyone's eyes on me. D'Angelo and I were both so nervous yet excited at the same time. The ceremony was beautiful and so many important people in our lives showed up. The ceremony was beautiful and filled with so much love and emotion. It was such a special time that I will never forget. After the ceremony we said our thank you's and hugged all of the guest before we headed up to the bar in the hotel to have a few celebratory shots before we headed over to the reception. Everyone was such a big help with the little ones that day making sure that they were where they needed to be so that D'Angelo and I could enjoy our day. I didn't want to make the guests wait forever so after about 45 minutes we headed over to do our big introduction into the reception hall. We were all starving so we made sure that we headed over to the food as soon as possible and boy was the food great! After most people were done eating we continued with our speeches. Everyone's speeches were outstanding and left everyone in tears. Then the dance started and it didn't take long for everyone to join in on the dance floor. I had the best time of my life and am so thankful for everyone that traveled and came to the wedding and helped make our day so special and memorable. I love D'Angelo with all my heart and it is an honor and a blessing to finally be able to call myself Mrs. Dunbar. D'Angelo has been my rock through everything and has always been by my side. I love seeing the man he has become. He is an amazing father and I can't wait to see where this journey takes us.

My incredible father and son